None of Surrey's 11 borough or district council leaders are even going to try to meet the government’s latest housing figure targets because it would require them to "concrete over the green belt".

Tandridge District Council leader, Councillor Martin Fisher, said Surrey's 11 council leaders simply "do not accept" new proposals which will see the number of houses expected to be built across each local authority area in Surrey rise by as much as 40%.

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, announced last month a new white paper entitled "Planning for the right homes in the right places".

This proposes creating a standard system to measure housing targets. It also ups the county’s housing need while other areas in the north of the country has seen their figures fall.

This new increase will mean Tandridge’s objectively assessed need (OAN) has gone from 9,400 houses to nearly 12,000 homes. These are to be built over a 20-year period.

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Surrey Housing Crisis

Surrey's 11 borough and district council leaders have written to Mr Javid over the white paper.

The letter states “most of Surrey is heavily constrained by the green belt and other important designations imposing severe limitations on our ability to meet local housing need”.

Council leaders also outline their concern over the government’s use of a standardised methodology combined with an affordability ratio without exemptions for green belt land.

In a speech, Cllr Fisher said: “Let me make it quite clear, Tandridge District Council does not accept this arbitrary increase because it takes no account of our green belt constraint.

“Surrey leaders strongly reject the proposals from the DCLG which would see an unrealistic and totally unacceptable increase in the levels of housing wanted or needed within our own districts and within Surrey in general."

Cllr Martin Fisher, leader of Tandridge District Council, has confirmed all Surrey area's disagree with the government's new housing target

He continued: “We represent an area in the south east already straining at the seams to accommodate the original level of proposed housing need.

"Any increase to our working OAN figure will absolutely not be tolerated by our council. We will face a scenario in which existing housing delivery targets, let alone the proposed increased targets, are unlikely to be able to be met.

“In fact, through the evidence gathering process, it is already apparent to me we are likely to be well short of our existing OAN number and the proposed increase will not help us to find additional land that simply doesn’t exist without concreting over the green belt, something this council will never do.”

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He confirmed all 11 leaders of Surrey’s borough and district councils met on the afternoon Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his budget.

They then wrote a joint letter calling for a meeting with Mr Javid while requesting the attendance of MP for Epsom and Ewell and transport secretary, Chris Grayling.

Mr Hammond said last month the number of 25 to 34 year-olds owning their own home has dropped from 59% to 38% over the last 13 years.

Meanwhile, 15 authorities across the country, including Mr Hammond's own Runnymede back yard, are being threatened with “special measures” for failing to make progress on developing their local plans.

Green belt 'decimation'

Under the new housing calculation, social housing need has been reduced in some areas, particularly in the north of England, and Cllr Fisher said it “reflected the disjointed and disproportionate nature of this policy compared to efforts the government has made to rebalance the economy and deliver the infrastructure in the north that would be able to support these homes".

“Tandridge has been tirelessly working to identify the land and infrastructure necessary to facilitate delivery of our housing need," he said. "As a result, we have stated we are considering releasing 1% of green belt land for new housing, despite some local objection.

“I will tell the secretary of state when I meet him in due course we will not stand idly by when our local plan is put forward for examination next year."

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Continued Cllr Fisher: "If the Planning Inspectorate attempts to force us to build more homes to meet the government's arbitrarily-inflated OAN figure, this would ultimately lead to the decimation of our green belt.

“Finding the right balance between providing housing for all our residents’ future needs, while, at the same time, ensuring maximum protection for our green belt, is what we all ultimately want.”

Since the speech last Thursday, several other borough and district council leaders across Surrey have commented on Cllr Fisher’s speech.

Mole Valley leader, Councillor Vivienne Michael, said she fears for the future of Surrey's green belt

Councillor Vivienne Michael, leader of Mole Valley District Council, said, “A standardised methodology for assessing housing need would remove the dispute over how the housing need figure is calculated and speed up the local plan process.

“We are concerned the methodology being proposed takes no account of the constraints faced in districts such Mole Valley where there is a very high percentage of land designated green belt or protected in other ways.

"Given the cost of housing relative to wages in Mole Valley is one the highest in the country, there is no doubt in my mind we need to deliver more affordable housing in the district.

"But the balance needs to be struck between that and protecting the green belt and other areas such as areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs).

“With other Surrey leaders, I am currently seeking a meeting with the secretary of state to ensure the government understands the challenges we are facing and to seek clear and unambiguous guidance on this issue.”

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Councillor Victor Broad, leader of Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, believes his borough is constrained and “would resist” any housing target rise while believing green belt should be a relevant consideration about housing targets.

“Reigate and Banstead Borough Council has an approved housing target of 460 homes per year to 2027 which was tested and agreed by the planning inspector in 2014 after an extensive independent examination," he said. "We are making good progress in delivering housing to meet this target.

“Our Development Management Plan shows how these housing numbers can continue while justifying the protection of the green belt. We would resist any debate over an increase in this housing target."

'We haven't built enough homes'

A DCLG spokesman said “high demand areas such as Surrey, prices will continue to soar – putting housing out of reach for ordinary working people”.

“The simple truth is that for far too long we haven’t built enough homes and we don’t build them quickly enough – so it’s time to fix that," he said.

“This new approach is about getting a better understanding of housing needs in local areas and using this as a basis to plan for affordable high quality homes for everyone.

"It will also cut the unnecessarily complex and lengthy debates that can delay house building.

"It’s not a local target, but will help make sure there’s a clear and realistic assessment of how many new homes are needed.”

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